Purple Labs has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the mobile applications suite and software engineering team of Sagem Mobiles, a French manufacturer that develops mobile phones branded by Sony Ericsson, Orange, Vodafone and other customers. The asset sale to Purple Labs is linked to an announcement by SAFRAN, a French technology group, that it is selling its Sagem Mobiles business unit to Sofinnova Partners. SAFRAN will join Sofinnova as a shareholder in the new entity, which will be called Sagem Wireless.

Purple Labs and Sagem Wireless also agreed to enter into a multi-year license and development agreement, whereby Purple Labs will provide Sagem Wireless with all of the application software for its products, and all of the software for its future 3G Linux devices based on LiMo Foundation requirements.

Both deals are expected to close by the end of this year, subject to the approval of employee representative bodies. Based in Chambéry, France, Purple Labs is funded by three European venture capital firms: Sofinnova Partners, Earlybird Venture Capital, and Partners Group.

Labels: Other mobile phone brands

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